John Van Pelt designed one of the cottages for his wife, Myra, and incorporated her initials in the chandelier. | Photos by Charmaine David, courtesy of Patricia Ruben/Sotheby?s International Realty

The structures were handcrafted with mostly salvaged materials, including ropes and oars from Jack London?s boat. In Long Time No Sale, Curbed unearths homes hitting the market for the first time in a long time ? or maybe ever ? in hopes of finding mint-condition time capsules.
Location: Los Angeles, California
Years built: Early 1930s to mid-1940s
Last sold: 1975
Specs: 5 structures, 8 beds, 8 baths, 6,493 square feet, 2.54 acres
Notable changes: Updated plumbing and electrical systems
Price: $12,000,000

Materializing this month on the market like the L.A. version of Brigadoon is a rather extraordinary property known as the John A. Van Pelt Estate. A professor, conductor, and arranger of choral music, Van Pelt was also an early investor in L.A. real estate. In the 1920s, Van Pelt acquired a sizable swath of land in Los Feliz?s Franklin Hills section and subdivided it into 71 parcels. Claiming the largest lot for himself, he set about creating a private, picturesque little village with five English storybook-style cottages. Ranging in size from one to three bedrooms, the cottages were painstakingly handcrafted between the 1930s and ?40s with mostly salvaged materials, including clinker bricks from the city?s demolished cable-car system and lumber from old ships. Nautica...